Would those simulations contain other sentient beings? Would those be free to leave the simulation at will? Who would pay for the cost of running the simulation?
Sure, determinism implies that everything happens for a reason, and that we are determined by our internal properties that were shaped by the environment. Therefore, dangerous criminal actions are an indicator that something is wrong with the environment.
And when it comes to punishments, I’d argue that even criminals have human rights and their autonomy should be respected as much as possible. They should be given a range of punishments (seen as roughly equivalent from the point of view of the public), and the criminal would have to choose one among those. Getting banished to a virtual world would be one possibility. Getting his mind altered would be another one. I’ve actually written a short fictional piece that contains that theme:
https://transforum.fractalfuture.net/t/averaged-interviews-with-the-future-visitor/1243
Yes, that would be a very serious problem, especially as implants get more powerful and essential.
Sounds like a “cyber-guardian AI” that should protect your implant security. I guess once we get useful AI assistants, this kind of technology won’t be far off. Another possible way to maintain implant security would be formally correct code aimed at making implants virtually hacker-proof, see: